Penelope Cruz, Daniel Day-Lewis and Amy Adams: New On DVD Today

Yep, that’s Penelope Cruz looking like a high-class stripper. It’s a scene from the just-released DVD Nine.

Cruz is just one of seven women that surround Nine’s central character, Daniel Day-Lewis as frustrated film director Guido Contini. Just days away from starting to shoot his next film, he’s in the middle of a personal and professional crisis. As he tries to pull himself together, he reflects on all the women in his life.

There’s bombshell Penelope Cruz as his mistress, Marion Cotillard as his wife and Fergie as a whore from his youth. There’s also Dame Judi Dench as the costumer for his yet-to-be-shot film, Kate Hudson as an American journalist writing about him and Nicole Kidman as his star and muse. Finally, there’s Sophia Loren as his mother.

All of them have played a major part of Guido’s past, which he must sort out in order to move into his future.

A few of the women are surprisingly well-suited to the musical format. Cruz and Hudson pull off especially sexy dance numbers and surprise viewers with their singing voices. Kidman excels as the blonde princess and Loren is, well, brilliantly Loren. (There’s a reason she’s a legend. Besides her considerable acting chops, she’s 75 years old and still one of the most beautiful women in the world. One look from those famous almond-shaped eyes and the younger women pale in comparison — no offense, Penelope.)

From the splashy, big-budget film packed with stars, we turn our attention to Paper Covers Rock.

Made for just $6,000 and shot in ten days, Paper stars newcomer Jeannine Kaspar as Sam, a troubled young mom.

Okay, we’ve done a splashy musical, a serious low-budget indie, now it’s time for the romantic comedy Leap Year.

Amy Adams, the perky redhead seen in Wedding Crashers, Doubt and Julie & Julia, is Anna, an American businesswoman who follows her boyfriend to Ireland to take advantage of the old world custom that allows young women to propose to their beloved on February 29 during Leap Year (rather than wait around for their boyfriends to take the hint and spring for an engagement ring, we guess).

Each of Leap Year‘s characters is right out of the standard romantic comedy arsenal. Amy is uptight and determined to get her man. She, of course, gets waysided by Irish charmer Declan (handsomely played by Matthew Goode) who is ready and willing to step in for her jughead boyfriend. Circumstances keep throwing the two together and eventually into each other’s arms.

There are no real surprises in Leap Year and fans of the cinema (you snobs, you) will find this a bit of innocuous fluff but Amy Adams fans will want to tuck this one away for a rainy afternoon. (We suggest you add lots of chocolate and keep some tissues handy.)